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Divorce, separation, dissolution of a civil partnership or simply splitting up with a partner is never easy - the emotional upheaval, legal complexities and financial implications make even the most amicable parting a demanding business; when children are involved, couples are in dispute and property needs to be divided the whole process can be fraught with difficulties. And it's not just for married couples that is complicated: the dissolution of civil partnerships and the splitting up of cohabiting couples means the subject has become more varied and more complex.Divorce and Splitting Up offers comprehensive, clear, step-by-step guidance through the whole process, explaining how the law works, drawing attention to key considerations and looking at ways of minimising unnecessary conflict and costs

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Review

'Explains in simple terms how divorce works and the financial implications' -- Mail on Sunday

'This handbook will answer your initial questions and is much cheaper than paying a solicitor' -- Choice--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Claire Colbert qualified as a solicitor in 2001 and went on to work in the area of family law. She is a Resolution accredited specialist and a member of the Law Society's Family Law Panel. Claire is married with two children.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

Well written and easy to follow. Structure of the book is very good so that you can easily skip the chapters that are not relevant, or home into the ones that are important to you. Provides the right amount of detail so that you understand what is going on without being overwhelmed by details that might not be relevant. Makes it clear where a solicitor is essential and what preparations to make before consulting one.

If your divorce is a "simple" one, then this book may be all you need to do your own divorce. However, it all depends on how acrimonious things are between you and your former partner. If child custody is involved, or there is a mortgage or property to divide, then I reckon you'll need professional legal advice, but this book will still be a useful money-saving tool in your armoury.

I did my own divorce by using this book, and it definitely saved £-thousands for my ex and I in what would have been pointless legal fees, though by the time proceedings began, my ex and I were past the throwing-things-and-yelling stage, and were being reasonably civil.

The book dealt with everything, and made the process a whole lot easier to do and cope with. In fact, by using it I was much more clued-up about the process than my ex, which put me in control of it all (that's a much better place to be in a divorce). I recommend you read the whole book, make lots of notes, and mark all the key pages with post-it notes before you start the divorce process. Even if you don't do your own divorce, it is a useful book to have around, especially if most people around you have "taken sides" and seem to have skewed ideas about what divorce is and isn't.

This excellent book will give you a very good road map when it comes to divorce. If you find yourself in more complicated territory this book won't be sufficient on its own but it should at least help you to ask the right kinds of questions.

Some very good advice is that lawyers make for expensive counsellors. The other point that could be stressed more is that lawyers are only human; they make mistakes. As with most things in life you should not rely completely on somebody else to look after your own interests. Finally, despite pretty much anything else that is going on, check your bill and challenge it promptly - Have you been double-charged for copy letters?What are you being charged for emails? (it might be the same as a letter); Is your lawyer sending lots of long letters (expensive) when short letters would do (less expensive)? Are you wasting time on correspondence when moving swiftly to issuing proceedings would get the whole thing on a time-table set by the Court? (particularly relevant if the other side is ignoring your letters) Is the breakdown of charges clear? It is incredibly difficult to focus on bills when in the midst of a divorce but it is time well spent. A good lawyer will help you but they are also there to make money based on chargeable time. Nothing wrong with that but make sure they don't make too much at your expense.

Firstly, make sure you get the most recent copy of this book - if you are going to get it. The laws around Legal Aid are changing quite quickly.

Secondly, the main problem of the book is structural. Are you the person who is doing the divorcing or are you the person being divorced? Because different people need different information and this book doesn't address that, so it never really knows who it's talking to.

Thirdly, the information falls short of what you would expect of a which? publication, so for example, in the chapter about finding a solicitor (and costs) it say, "Many solicitors offer a free first interview..." but what it fails to say is that fees are often negotiable and many solicitors charging £200 per hour will drop to £150 in a heartbeat if you simply ask at the outset.

Fourthly, despite being called a guide there is no practical advice about filling out forms - how do you fill out Form E for example? There's a great deal of form filling in a divorce and the more you can do yourself the less you will have to pay the solicitor.

Finally, all books on divorce should contain the following rider: the only people who really win in divorce cases are solicitors and barristers and by the time you have finished squabbling about just how the cake should be cut - well you guessed it - the cake becomes much, much smaller.

a very practical guide to all the legal things you may need to know about when getting a divorce, it has sections and 'tasks' you can work through before seeking legal help, also loads of information people could do with knowing before visiting a solicitor or lawyer looking for legal acton and a permenant split up, this book could probably save you loads in fees with the extra knowledge you will gain from reading it! great one up on your partener if you are armed with more information on your legal rights!

I picked this book up in the local library. It was like a light bulb moment, things just became simple and clear with the divorce, money kids and process. Many people (solicitors), make things comppicated and cloud the issue (to drive up there fees?). I only need 2 chapters really from this book - finance and children. I sacked my solicitors and represented my self. Negociated my finances at the door to the court and got the deal I was looking for, then in a seperate hearing won the argument over the kids and got the access that I wanted. This simple easy to follow book was the start of that and reading made everything simple and clear.

There are 2 versions of the book - one is with flow charts and more graphic - the older version is more text based (this one is a little out of date on the CSA, but the princibles are still correct).

Don't get divorced without it (unless you want to fund your solicitors indoor heated swimming pool).